ACLU Blasts Homeland Security Agency for Use of Location Data

Civil liberties advocates are accusing the Department of Homeland Security of skirting the Fourth Amendment by buying access to people’s cellphone location data.

The American Civil Liberties Union unveiled a tranche of records Monday that show how DHS obtained vast amounts of location data from companies that aggregate and sell the records. Purchasing the information from data brokers sidesteps the legal process government officials would typically go through to get cellphone data, the group said. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

Privacy and civil liberties advocates have repeatedly criticized DHS for its collection and use of personal data ...